Children's Home run by Rite Directions Limited in Kingston upon Hull

Inspection report children's home: 1254316 1 Registered provider: Rite Directions Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who have complex needs associated with learning disabilities or difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is in day-to-day charge of the home. She has been registered with Ofsted since August 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 25 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1254316 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/06/2019 Full Good 13/11/2018 Full Good 07/03/2018 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1254316 3

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improvement to be good

The children living at the home have a range of different diagnoses including autism and chromosome disorders. The staff have not received any specific training or guidance about these conditions. This limits their knowledge and understanding of the children’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Although staff encourage the children to lead a healthy lifestyle, certain health needs remain unmet. As a result of the pandemic, children are experiencing delays in receiving dental treatment and routine appointments. Children’s vision is routinely checked by the optician, but children are not wearing their prescribed glasses to help correct their sight.

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improvement to be good

Children are prescribed medication to treat their physical and mental health needs. Medication is administered to children by the staff, but staff do not consistently complete medication records. Children need help with their mental health. Additional steps need to be taken by the staff to source specialist guidance about children’s emerging health concerns, for example eating disorders.

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improvement to be good

Children are developing their independence skills as staff enable them to have choice and control over elements of their care. Children have learned new skills, for example how to prepare themselves a snack and how to use the washing machine. The children, professionals and parents recognise the progress that children are making.

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improvement to be good

Children are making educational progress. Even if they struggle to attend school consistently, their day-to-day achievements are recognised and celebrated. One school reported that the progress that one child is making is outstanding.

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improvement to be good

There is evident damage to the home. Areas of the home have experienced significant wear and tear, including damage to the children’s bedroom furniture. The home requires decoration and maintenance. This includes the bathrooms, where fixtures, fittings and flooring are damaged. The home environment is not maintained to an acceptable standard. It does not present as homely or show children that the home is valued.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy the time they spend with their peers and the staff. When children want to attend community group-based activities, such as Air Cadets or wheelchair basketball, these are sourced for them. During the inspection, children were not involved in any community-based activities and were spending most of their free time in the company of the adults who care for them.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report children's home: 1254316 4 Due to children’s individual needs and vulnerability, they require staff supervision, particularly when out in the community. This limits their opportunity to go missing from care. If children do go missing from the home, staff respond immediately and take action to ensure the children’s safe return. Children’s missing-from-home plans provide detailed information and guidance to assist the police and staff during any missing-from-home incident.

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improvement to be good

Children’s safety plans address specific areas of risk for children. However, these plans do not provide staff with adequate guidance and they are implemented inconsistently by the staff. For example, during the inspection a child had unsupervised internet access. This was not permitted in their plan and the staff should have been present. The manager immediately addressed this shortfall with her staff.

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improvement to be good

The use of physical restraint on children has reduced. The review of incidents and restraint practice brings a focus on de-escalation. However, there is limited exploration about children’s communication needs and how these impact on their behavioural and emotional responses. Staff do not use any communication tools with the children.

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improvement to be good

Insufficient maintenance of the home impacts on the children’s safety and privacy. Unsecured carpet presents a trip hazard for children who are unsteady on their feet and at risk of falls. Problems with locks and door handles prevent ease of access for children and staff. This is concerning as one child has regular seizures. Examples of faults include a broken door handle in the lounge which prevents access from the outside once closed and a damaged lock on the girls’ bathroom. The style of lock prevents quick access in an emergency. One child cannot lock their bedroom door, which means that their bedroom cannot be secured or provide them with a private space. However, the children receive high levels of supervision from the staff.

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improvement to be good

Children are able to raise concerns about their care experience. Any allegations made by children against staff are fully investigated and lessons learned to improve staff practice. However, Ofsted has not always been notified when allegations are made. This under-reporting impacts on the regulator’s oversight of significant incidents and the measures taken to maintain the safety and well-being of children.

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good

The staff report that the manager is very supportive and routinely provides guidance and support on practice.

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good

The manager is child focused and wants the care that the children receive to have a positive impact on their lives. She sets practice standards and challenges inadequate practice. The manager’s bi-annual review of the home identifies areas for development and reflects on lessons learned. However, the review lacks evaluation/consultation with others, including children. Inspection report children's home: 1254316 5 The manager recognises the shortfalls at this home and is taking steps to improve the quality of recording. The children’s records and plans are reviewed and updated to ensure they are written in a way that is beneficial to children.

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good

Feedback from professionals and families is very positive. They consistently praise the staff for the difference that their care makes to the children. Parents’ comments include, ‘My daughter’s progress is amazing’ and ‘The staff are doing a great job and I am very pleased with the care that my child receives.’

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good

Staff retention and recruitment are areas for development. Staff are subject to safer recruitment checks. However, their files do not routinely provide evidence of qualifications, or the reasons staff have left previous roles.

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good

Agency staff are used to support staffing rotas. However, the recruitment checks for agency staff are not consistently sufficient. This raises questions about the suitability of individual staff and the manager’s lack of oversight. Inspection report children's home: 1254316 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(c)(i) 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(c)) 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each 15 April 2022 Inspection report children's home: 1254316 7 child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff’s understanding and implementation of each individual child’s risk assessment and their role in keeping children safe, particularly with regards to online safety.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)) 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other 15 April 2022 Inspection report children's home: 1254316 8 relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15).  The registered person should ensure that they have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in regulation 45 at least once every six months; also see regulation 13(2)(h) (the leadership and management standard). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2).

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report children's home: 1254316 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rite Directions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Tan Y Marian, Constitution Hill, Penmaenmawr, Gwynedd LL34 6BA

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1254316 10 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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